1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a bird feeder with feeding openings positioned below the perch so that goldfinches are attracted to the feeder but house finches and other undesired birds are excluded.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Traditional bird feeders feature a number of perches with corresponding feeding openings positioned at some distance directly below each perch. Blasbalg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,934, discloses a bird feeder of the general type, that is, a cylindrical tubular feed container with at least one feeding aperture above a perch that extends outwardly from the container. The Blasbalg feeder does not attempt to attract one type of bird or to discriminate among birds of different types.
Another feeder, Salick, U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,244, is a hanging bird feeder made of plastic tubing. The tubing is permanently sealed at one end and open at the other end so it can be filled with seed. Perch bars, made of sticks with one pointed end, are inserted into and through the tube at a variety of horizontal positions. Both ends of the perch protrude from the tube. A second hole is pierced at a distance directly above the perch and acts as a feeding hole. The Salick feeder allows the owner of the feeder to decide the type of birds he wishes to attract by (1) varying the length of the perch bar and/or (2) varying the height above the perch of the opening. A short perch bar and an opening a short distance above the perch would only accommodate smaller species of birds.
Salick only allows the owner to choose between large birds and small birds and not between different species in the same family such as between goldfinches and house finches. The known feeders do not take into consideration the fact that birds feed a variety of positions.
The American Goldfinch prefers to feed on thistle or seed bearing plants. The goldfinch is a small bird with height between 41/2 to 51/2 inches and is able to feed from a variety of positions including upside down. The housefinch is a larger bird with a height of 5-51/2 inches and lacks the goldfinch's ability to feed upside down.